Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 75,580 Shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its position in shares of FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE:FE) by 24.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 237,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 75,580 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in FirstEnergy were worth $9,095,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in FE. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in FirstEnergy by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 929 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the period. Balanced Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of FirstEnergy by 1.0% during the second quarter. Balanced Wealth Group LLC now owns 26,500 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,015,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of FirstEnergy by 6.2% in the first quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 4,995 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $193,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of FirstEnergy by 3.8% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,973 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Greenleaf Trust increased its position in FirstEnergy by 3.1% during the first quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 9,736 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.41% of the company’s stock.

FirstEnergy Stock Down 0.9 %

FE stock opened at $43.65 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $42.70 and a 200-day moving average price of $40.10. FirstEnergy Corp. has a 12 month low of $32.18 and a 12 month high of $44.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.50.

FirstEnergy (NYSE:FE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.56 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.56. The business had revenue of $3.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.47 billion. FirstEnergy had a net margin of 6.61% and a return on equity of 12.12%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.47 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that FirstEnergy Corp. will post 2.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

FirstEnergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.425 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.89%. FirstEnergy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 97.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

FE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of FirstEnergy from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Argus upgraded FirstEnergy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on FirstEnergy from $45.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on FirstEnergy from $39.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of FirstEnergy from $42.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, FirstEnergy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $44.18.

FirstEnergy Profile

FirstEnergy Corp., through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, and distributes electricity in the United States. It operates through Regulated Distribution and Regulated Transmission segments. The company owns and operates coal-fired, nuclear, hydroelectric, wind, and solar power generating facilities.